Save up for 71 years???
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According to the survey of one on-line estate agency “House Simple” it would take a school teacher earning the average London salary more than 71 years to save up for a 63% deposit to obtain a mortgage if they managed to put aside some of their salary every year. The current housing crisis is a growing reason why many parts of Britain, especially London, are facing a huge shortage of teachers as the state is failing to retain and recruit numbers. The specter of potential homelessness is one reason for the shortage.
Homeless activists have often encountered homeless teachers on the streets of Moscow, Saint Petersburg, London and Chicago. How many such individuals are out there? 50 per city? 100? In Chicago, it may be over 1,000. However, it is almost impossible to come up with an estimate. Teachers try to hide their housing status!
However, you can never be certain who will suddenly surface at a soup kitchen feeding the homeless and the poor. People can come from all different backgrounds—all different races—and all different corners of the globe—thus confounding notorious stereotypes of the homeless.
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In Russia
This is certainly the experience of Konstantin Fomichev, the driver of a “night bus” which takes meals to the homeless in St. Petersburg. He stated, "Some people coming to the Night Bus speak foreign languages, have read a lot and are generally stunning. We have a former ballerina, for example, coming for a meal. She even positions her feet like a ballet dancer. There are athletes, too. They ask me where I did my military service and what sport I did. I tell them I did four years of boxing. And this person goes, ‘Oh really? Me too!’ and starts telling me about coaches I know, too! They are living a tough life and so they start dreaming of their past. I am not a psychologist but I think it's good to remember that you had something other than grief and sorrow in the past."
And of course, Konstantin Fomichev comes across homeless teachers. They have become homeless for all kinds of reasons. For instance, a teacher might be made homeless because of a terrible accident where he becomes an invalid or loses his or her job due to the crisis of the pandemic.
Some school teachers have lost their jobs because they lack specialized training and for example might not be skilled at teaching through means of and using newer on-line lessons.
Other teachers might face physical challenges in addition to not being up-to-date on their computer skills. For example, 50-year-old teacher Valery stated, "I used to teach English at school and then I lived abroad for a long time, in Austria and Germany. In 2015 I broke my legs really badly and came back here from Salzburg. To begin with, I was on the street, it's stairs everywhere, I couldn't come here. I had a consultation, got a note to certify I was homeless and eventually got a room in a two-bedroom flat. When I was still in a two-bedroom flat, I got mugged. So I lost all my friends' former students' contacts. I still haven't restored these ties because I don't know how to use the internet."
There is a lively and friendly teacher called Yulia who used to be a teacher but lost her job that provided her with accommodation. Although she later got a job in a warehouse she was sacked on the grounds of 'old age.' She wanted to use a computer in the library but felt uncomfortable turning up untidy and smelling badly. Staff members at Nochlezhka (a charity which helps the homeless) invited her to use free showering facilities on 'the women's only day.' At least Yulia now feels confident about going into the library.
I made friends with Galina, a French teacher who had been cheated out of her accommodation by some real estate agents. She was a friendly, kind and amiable person who always wanted to help other people with their problems despite being destitute herself.
There are all kinds of reasons why teachers may end up homeless on the streets. A teacher can easily face being unfairly dismissed from their post. For instance, all it can take is a head teacher to take a dislike to a teacher, a single complaint from a student or someone to report 'an unacceptable comment or photo' a teacher has posted in a social network.
Some school teachers who have lost their jobs end up being placed on a blacklist. If they can't pay the rent, then of course they face eviction… ending up on the streets.
In Russia—as in other countries—it is very difficult to find out how many homeless teachers there are.
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In England
In Britain, compared to twenty years ago, a young person beginning a career in teaching might never ever obtain a home of his or her own. It now remains a far-fetched dream. A report by an on-line real estate agency “House Simple” found that a young teacher in London would have to put money aside for 71 years before they could manage to afford 63% of the deposit for a mortgage.
The situation drastically worsened following the housing crisis of 2008 when many people defaulted on their mortgages. The introduction of very strict banking regulations means that low paid teachers won't qualify for a mortgage. That means they are forced into the volatile world of rampant landlords who not only increase their rent, but can sell their accommodation and evict you on a whim. There is very little protection for private tenants.
In any case, many potential teachers can't afford huge rent. So of course London is experiencing a huge shortage of teachers and can't retain many school teachers. Of course, accommodation alone is hardly the only reason for teachers leaving the profession. A combination of different factors such as disrespect from the state, too much red tape, too much control, long hours, overwork, and the low pay also play a part.
However, there is no doubt that not being able to afford accommodation or attain a new home is becoming a more prominent factor in dissuading people from entering the teaching profession.
Last year the government failed to meet their recruiting target for enlisting trainee teachers. As many as 1 out of 5 teachers have stated they expect to leave the profession in less than 5 years’ time. There are all kinds of reports of British teachers living in boats on canals, or in cars. For example, Andy Winter, a teacher, lives in a boat on a canal, simply because it is more affordable than paying for a mortgage.
There was also the case in 2017 of the school teacher Tara Diamond whose rent rose so high it consumed a huge 80% of her salary. When she realized she was on the brink of being made homeless she stated, "I experienced this feeling which I can only describe as pure terror. I have never been so scared in all my life. My self-esteem was at rock bottom." Fortunately a colleague informed her about how she could obtain emergency aid from the Educational Support Partnership. They found her a three-bedroom apartment. Although it was in poor condition and rather run down, it was better than being on the streets.
While 30 years ago the average property in London for a first-time buyer was 122,000 pounds, last year it was a staggering 462,070 pounds! A 28-year-old teacher Mike Seal has stated he is going to leave his job as a teacher in London precisely because he can't afford those prices and he is tired of spending a lot of his income on landlords.
What we now see is a situation where young people are stuck at the home of their parents until middle age, putting off marriage or having a family in the first place, and only obtaining a home when their parents die. The notion that a good education boosts your job prospects and likelihood of obtaining a home now seems questionable. There are no guarantees! Life is chaotic, capricious, and precarious.
We don't have a meritocracy but a so-called “inheritocracy.” It is macabre to think that the only hope of some teachers getting a home is when their parents die! However, even the word “mortgage” has etymological roots in the word Latin for death. This is a grotesque scenario. The future perspectives suggest more school teachers being evicted, driven on to the streets and turning up at soup kitchens.
And this is happening on the streets of London, Saint Petersburg, Moscow and Chicago…
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In Chicago
Homeless teachers can be found two different ways in Chicago. First, it can “kind of come out” that an educator at a food pantry or homeless shelter is actually a teacher. “How can a teacher be homeless? They are smart! They went to college!” …these are the kinds of nonsensical ideas some people will yell as they try to make sense of the situation.
“Just why would a teacher—of all professionals—be homeless?” People ask such crazy questions, and they look incredulous and shocked and betrayed as they say these things. “Teachers should never be homeless, should be spared such a bad life, should never have to worry about a place to live!”
For some reason, people feel teachers are in some special category—as if just because a person is an educator a check for $10,000 every month falls out of the heavens and the teacher is there with a catcher’s mitt, always ready to pick that comforting gift out of the air.
Well, it is too bad… but there are many teachers who for many reasons are homeless. Just as there are homeless students in the Chicago Public Schools (CPS)—over 16,000 in fact—there are homeless teachers, administrators, janitors, paraprofessionals, and others in CPS. All these employees are, in fact, unhoused professionals!
Another way to find out a teacher is homeless is a little more difficult. Through trust and through a strong and friendly network, one can discover that one of the teachers at the table happens to be homeless. Many, many teachers in this situation will try to hide that fact, but they can lose control of the “secret” during a meeting or luncheon, and then “the cat is out of the bag,” as it were. It is harder to find homeless teachers this way, and it is usually accidental that feline secret is left running about—for others to judge the professional.
Many teachers and other professionals belong to the corps of the “hidden homeless” out there. They do not get counted, they do not get housing easily since they are hidden, and they do not get profiled on television or other media because they are not out there being seen.
“Couch-surfing” is a typical form of homelessness among professionals—in Chicago and doubtless in other cities as well. The old college roommate, the cousin, the ex-wife, some other guy in the math department—all of these people could be your landlord for a few nights. Or for a year!
Whoever lets you “crash” on their couch whenever you have a huge argument with your girlfriend (or boyfriend) is the friend or relative who will most likely get asked for that couch during desperate times. Salaries, savings, and plans may disappear as teachers and other educators are busy trying to survive and figure out where to sleep, where to “dwell” in an emergency.
By the way, if you couch surf you are not eligible for HUD* assistance. Both couch-surfing and “doubling up” with another family or couple or individual are considered “housed” situations. A teacher who simply lives—or sleeps—somewhere with friends or relatives for a while does not qualify for any homeless-aimed dollars. According to HUD and those who use their rules and regulations to determine eligibility.
But why do teachers become homeless? The reasons are similar to the ones driving homelessness among educators in the other cities above. Housing is darn expensive in Chicago. Though not the most expensive city on earth—people will argue Chicago apartment rents are not that bad!—it is still a hard town to afford. When a teacher’s program gets cut back, a school closes, a job “changes” or it “gets reduced” there are still those d*mn bills to pay. How? Imagine a scenario recently encountered by a Chicago teacher who said, “I had about $500 left. That was all. My rent was $1,100. Do the math.”
Doing the math always seems to lead to sadness, doesn’t it? Just as in other big cities, the room or apartment (flat) one rents has to be an inexpensive one. A cheap one. A krappy one.
Face it—you cannot live in luxury on a smaller (but still professional) salary.
You cannot have that second bedroom just for your writing. Or your library. Or your taxidermy. Or your guests who spend the summers with you to keep working on those hobbies you started when you were all roommates in Ann Arbor or Boston or Austin or Denver. You have a small place. You have a “convertible” apartment. This means some shutters pull back and there is a bed behind them. Otherwise, it is a living room you are sitting in!
A good friend of mine (T.H.’s buddy “Philip”) was a college professor. When the state cut back and the governor could not figure out how to get a budget together (“But that was not really his fault!” …scream some readers) my buddy’s program ended. Said the university administrators to my friend, “You can keep coming to work every day and keep doing your job, we just cannot pay you anymore.”
Suddenly, he was sleeping outside a burger joint on the chairs that summer. He did go to work for a while, but then he had to move on… he had to have money to buy burgers! He did alright—and he moved on after a couple years of being homeless (basically) and working full-time.
He now has a position with great responsibility (and housing provided as part of the job). People cannot believe he wss ever homeless. Of course, he was! And of course he was still the same person—a professional through and through… a loyal friend… an interesting presenter and researcher… and an expert in statistics!
Chicago rents are darn high…
Many, many people are “one paycheck away from homelessness” and, no, this is not just a cliché. Readers in Chicago (and other big cities with inflated rent levels nobody is able to reduce apparently) need to think about this and ask themselves some hard questions… such as:
1) If you suddenly had NO income—through no fault of your own—how long could you keep paying your rent, utilities, food, and clothing costs?
2) If you suddenly became homeless, what family member would give you a room at their house for you to live in for a year or two?
3) What friend could you go live with?
4) What friend could you share a room with?
5) What friend would give you money to travel to another city to live with family members? Drive you to Seattle? Buy you that plane ticket to Montreal?
6) Who would buy you a car to go to a different job—such as delivering pizza?
7) How much money do you have in your savings account right now? $10,000? $20,000? $500,000?
8) Could you just buy a recreational vehicle (RV) to go travel in and work part-time jobs across the nation as you work on finishing that novel you are writing?
9) Would you feel embarrassed—or like a failure—that the school dropped your program or cancelled your classes or fired you to save money?
10) If you had to, could you retire at the age of 59? 57? 49?
Said my friend whose salary at the university disappeared that one summer: “My values have changed completely. Now I think every day how I can help other people. I buy used clothes and shoes at a thrift shop instead of spending hundreds on clothing I don’t really need. I buy bargain brands. I eat leftovers—and dress them up in better ways so I feel good about those meals and eating them. I am more polite to my ex-wife, and I spend more quality time with my two boys—now almost in high school! I will never forget being homeless… never forget who helped me when I needed a meal or a pat on the back!”
As reporters on both sides of the pond, we are dependent on friends, colleagues, and fellow writers telling us about their experiences and challenges. We are lucky to meet and know such engaging individuals. We are lucky they feel free to share their stories with us.
It is communicating about the world of the homeless that drives us. We hope people learn from these stories—the stories do not belong to us but to the courageous teachers and salespeople and shopkeepers and bus drivers and others out there who insist on sharing news we can pass on to the readers.
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{Thank you to friends, colleagues, and the masses who share their stories with us. Thank you to people we interview and encourage to provide more information. Thank you also to devoted staff members at fine organizations such as Nochlezhka, not only for their assistance with comments for articles but also for their in-depth research and reports we often draw on. And a “special thank you” to Stephen W. for the excellent idea of this article to begin with!}
{*HUD = U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Persons engaged in “couch-surfing” are not eligible for housing benefits per se, though various forms of support from caseworkers may be available locally in agencies established to help homeless persons find employment, food assistance, and other relief. In Britain, the term “sofa surfing” is used, and similar restrictions apply (Claiming benefits if you're homeless - Shelter England). Doubling up is also problematic if seeking benefits.}